admin – Herstory

Malala Yousafzai, Activist for Children, Activist for Women’s Rights

admin — Wed, 15 May 2019 01:00:46 +0000

Malala Yousafzai represents a voice for children and women in terms of their rights, especially in relation to education. Born in 1997, Malala started at the age of 11 to advocate girls’ rights to education in Pakistan when the Taliban started to stop girls from attending school. As a result of her activism, the Taliban attacked her in 2012 on her way home from school on a bus. But this did not deter Malala.

Leaving Pakistan for the United Kingdom for treatment in 2012 after the attack, she began schooling in Birmingham and has since then continued her advocacy for girls’ rights. In 2014, she was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, becoming the youngest person to receive the prize at the age of 17. She was accepted to the University of Oxford in 2017 to study philosophy, politics and economics. Malala is our Woman of the Week because she represents audacity and hope for the future of girls’ rights and education.

Sources:

Biography.com Editors. Malala Yousafzai Biography, Fri. 15 Feb 2019,
https://www.biography.com/people/malala-yousafzai-21362253

Malala Yousafzai – Biographical. NobelPrize.org. Nobel Media AB 2019. Fri. 15 Feb
2019, https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2014/yousafzai/biographical/

Christine Lagarde, Managing Director, International Monetary Fund

admin — Wed, 08 May 2019 01:00:41 +0000

Christine Lagarde is a French lawyer and politician, and currently the Managing Director of the International Monetary Fund (IMF). She is the first female to hold that position since 2011, and still in the role and serving her second five-year term since 2016. Prior to her appointment as Managing Director of IMF, she served as France’s Finance Minister from 2007-2011, the first woman to serve in that position.

Before that time, she was France’s Minister for Foreign Trade from 2005-2007. In 2018, Christine was named the 3rd most powerful woman by Forbes. Her role in providing financial guidance to the 189 member countries of the IMF has been noteworthy.
Christine Lagarde is our Woman of the Week because she represents leadership and service.

Sources:

Encyclopaedia Britannica. Christine Lagarde: French Lawyer and Politician, Mon 25 Feb. 2019, https://www.britannica.com/biography/Christine-Lagarde
Forbes. Power Women 2018, Mon 25 Feb. 2019,
https://www.forbes.com/profile/christine-lagarde/#27ece7bc2170
IMF Blog. Christine Lagarde, Mon 25 Feb. 2019, https://blogs.imf.org/bloggers/christine-lagarde/
International Monetary Fund. Christine Lagarde, Mon 25 Feb. 2019,
https://www.imf.org/external/np/omd/bios/cl.htm

Melinda Gates, Co-Chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation

admin — Wed, 01 May 2019 01:00:02 +0000

A look at the rate of extreme poverty, poor health and access to education around the world tells us that these are indeed serious issues that need attention. Melinda Gates is one of those people addressing these challenges around the world. Gates is the co-chair of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation along with her husband, Bill Gates. The foundation is the largest private charitable organisation with a trust endowment of $40 billion.

It addresses global problems in five different divisions: Global Health Division, Global Development Division, Global Growth & Opportunity Division, United States Division, and Global Policy & Advocacy Division. Melinda Gates is the 6th most powerful woman in the world, according to the 2018 Forbes World’s 100 Most Powerful Women. Gates is also the most powerful woman in philanthropy. A large part of her work has been focused on the rights of women and girls. Melinda Gates is our Woman of the Week because she represents leadership, commitment to development, and the rights of women and girls.

Sources:

Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. What We Do, Mon 18 Feb. 2019,
https://www.gatesfoundation.org/What-We-Do
Forbes. Power Women 2018, Mon 18 Feb. 2019, https://www.forbes.com/profile/melinda-gates/#3adcd9387c2b

Amina Mohammed, Deputy Secretary-General, United Nations

admin — Wed, 24 Apr 2019 01:00:20 +0000

Amina Mohammed is the current United Nations Deputy Secretary-General, her second appointment in the United Nations. She has previously served as the Special Adviser to the Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on Post-2015 Development Planning. She also served as the Minister of Environment in Nigeria from 2015 to 2016. An accomplished leader and renowned catalyst for development, she contributed immensely to climate action, environmental protection and sustainable development in Nigeria as Minister of Environment. From 2005 to 2010, she served as the Senior Special Assistant to the President on the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) focusing on sustainable development, poverty, and public sector reform. Between 2005 and 2007, she served as National Commissioner, Human Rights Commission of Nigeria.

Photo: Conor Healy Photography via The Irish Times

Ms Mohammed is an Adjunct Professor in Development Practice at Columbia University, and has served on several international advisory boards and panels such as the UN Secretary-General’s High-level Panel on Post-2015 Development Agenda, the Global Development Program of the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, the Independent Expert Advisory Group on the Data Revolution for Sustainable Development, Girl Effect, and the African Women’s Millennium Initiative, among others.
Amina Mohammed is our Woman of the Week because she represents leadership, development, and service.

Sources:

Planetary Security Initiative. Amina J. Mohammed, Mon 18 Feb. 2019,
https://www.planetarysecurityinitiative.org/index.php/speaker/amina-j-mohammed
World Health Organization. Biography of Ms Amina Mohammed, United Nations Deputy
Secretary-General, Mon 18 Feb. 2019, https://www.who.int/antimicrobial-resistance/interagency-coordination-group/un_dsg_bio/en/